Did MS Dhoni drop Irfan Pathan after Hookah controversy? A reality check

"Half decade old video surfacing NOW with a twisted context to the Statement. Fan war? PR lobby?" That's what Irfan Pathan wrote on X after a 2020 video of him talking about MS Dhoni suddenly went viral. But what exactly was Pathan trying to hint at?

Let’s rewind to 2008, when iPods were still cool, and Irfan Pathan had suddenly gone uncool in the Indian team. And guess who was the captain? Yup, Captain Cool himself - MS Dhoni.

In an old interview from 5 years ago, Pathan casually mentioned that he wasn’t the kind of guy who’d go to someone’s room and set up their hookah. Subtle? Yes. Sassy? Also, yes.

He was clearly hinting there were other reasons why he was being left out of the playing XI. But the internet did what it does best - took it literally and turned it into a full-blown meme fest.

It got to the point where, when he wished Mohammed Shami a happy birthday, a fan replied: “Pathan bhai, what happened to the hookah?” And guess what? Pathan wrote, “Dhoni and I will sit and drink together.”

At this point, Pathan is literally the king of comebacks. The memes are flying around, and he’s out here enjoying them with popcorn in hand.

But since we’ve come this far, let’s also take a peek at his stats from 2008. Just to check, was it really the lack of hookah service that got him dropped?

Between 2007 and 2008, among India’s three left-arm pacers:

And in Tests? Same story. Zaheer topped the list with 68 scalps from 18 matches, RP Singh was next with 36 from 27 Tests and Pathan managed just 9 wickets in 4 matches.

So yeah, one thing’s pretty clear, even if he had set up the hookah, his bowling form alone would've still benched him. Moral of the story? Skill set is greater than Hookah setup service. Always.

Irfan Pathan last played international cricket under Dhoni, and even picked 5 wickets in his final ODI. While the exact reason for his exit remains unclear.